Fried Halloumi Cheese with Lime and Caper Vinaigrette

This is a great recipe to have up your sleeve for the unexpected vegetarian.

Halloumi arrives in sealed plastic wrapping and has a reasonably long shelf-life, which means that you can always have a pack tucked away in the fridge. If you can get hold of some Greek olive oil for the dressing and eat this outside in the sunshine, the scent and the flavours will transport you to the Aegean in moments.

Method

First of all, unwrap the cheese and pat it dry with kitchen paper. Then, using a sharp knife, slice it into 8 slices, including the ends.

Now prepare the dressing by simply whisking all the ingredients together in a small mixing bowl. When you're ready to serve the halloumi, heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. When the oil is really hot, press each slice of cheese into seasoned flour to coat it on both sides, then add them to the hot pan as they are done – they take 1 minute on each side to cook, so by the time the last one's in, it will almost be time to turn the first one over.

They need to be a good golden colour on each side.

Serve them straight away on warmed plates with the dressing poured over and garnished with coriander.

This is good served with lightly toasted pitta bread or Greek bread with toasted sesame seeds.

Have you seen...

Italy is rightly famous for its regional food specialities. But how do you know you're buying the real deal?

The key is to look for the distinctive red and yellow PDO mark - Protected Designation of Origin. It’s your guarantee of authentic regional flavour, perfected over centuries and made to exacting traditional standards.